Method for manufacturing a programmable system in package

ABSTRACT

Some embodiments provide a method for manufacturing a programmable system in package. The method divides a system into sets of operations. For each set of operations, the method identifies several integrated circuits (“IC&#39;s”) for performing the set of operations. The method packages several of identified IC&#39;s into a single IC package. The several identified IC&#39;s includes at least one configurable IC. In some embodiments, the configurable IC is a reconfigurable IC that can reconfigure more than once during run time. In some of these embodiments, the reconfigurable IC can be reconfigured at a first clock rate that is faster than the clock rates of one or more of the other IC&#39;s in the PSiP. The first clock rate is faster than the clock rate of all of the other IC&#39;s in the PSiP in some embodiments.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application is related to the following applications: U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/081,842, filed Mar. 15, 2005, now issued as U.S.Pat. No. 7,301,242; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/861,204,filed Sep. 25, 2007.

CLAIM OF BENEFIT TO PROVISIONAL APPLICATION

This application claims benefit to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 60/625,263, filed Nov. 4, 2004, entitled “Method and Apparatus for aProgrammable System in Package”, which is incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed towards method for manufacturing aprogrammable system in package.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The use of configurable integrated circuits (“IC's”) has dramaticallyincreased in recent years. One example of a configurable IC is a fieldprogrammable gate array (“FPGA”). An FPGA is a field programmable ICthat has an internal array of logic circuits (also called logic blocks)that are connected together through numerous interconnect circuits (alsocalled interconnects) and that are surrounded by input/output blocks.Like some other configurable IC's, the logic circuits and theinterconnect circuits of an FPGA are configurable (i.e., they can beconfigured to perform different functions and operations by receivingdifferent configuration data). One benefit of configurable IC's is thatthey can be uniformly mass produced and then subsequently configured toperform different operations.

Recently, some have suggested implementing an FPGA within a system onchip (“SoC”). A SoC is an IC that includes all of the necessary hardwareand electronic circuitry for a complete system. The SoC is typically asmall piece of semiconducting material (e.g., silicon) on which severalmacroblocks are embedded. Some of these macroblocks can include amemory, a microprocessor, digital signal processor, etc. Acharacteristic of the SoC is that it requires all the macroblocks to bemanufactured with one type of fabrication technology. This can beproblematic since each macroblock may have a different optimalfabrication technology (e.g., a memory macroblock might be optimallymanufactured at 90 nm, while an analog macroblock might be optimallymanufactured at 180 nm). As such, in some instances, some of themacroblocks of a SoC might be manufactured sub-optimally. Anotherdrawback of a SoC is that the design process is often extensive,cumbersome and expensive.

Therefore, there is a need in the art for a better method of fabricatinga configurable IC that has configurable IC operations andnon-configurable IC operations within the IC.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Some embodiments of the invention provide a programmable system inpackage (“PSiP”). The PSiP includes a single IC housing, a substrate andseveral IC's that are arranged within the single IC housing. At leastone of the IC's is a configurable IC. In some embodiments, theconfigurable IC is a reconfigurable IC that can reconfigure more thanonce during run time. In some of these embodiments, the reconfigurableIC can be reconfigured at a first clock rate that is faster (i.e.,larger) than the clock rates of one or more of the other IC's in thePSiP. The first clock rate is faster than the clock rate of all of theother IC's in the PSiP in some embodiments.

Some embodiments provide a method for manufacturing a programmablesystem in package. The method divides a system into sets of operations.For each set of operations, the method identifies an integrated circuit(“IC”) for performing the set of operations. The method packages a setof identified IC's into a single IC package. The set of identified IC'sincludes at least one configurable IC. In some embodiments, theconfigurable IC is a reconfigurable IC that can reconfigure more thanonce during run time.

Other embodiments of the invention provide a method for selecting a setof IC's for a PSiP. The method defines a budget for implementing thePSiP. The method identifies sets of operations that the PSiP has toimplement. For each particular set of operations, the method identifiesan IC to implement the particular set of operations. When the methodidentifies a set of IC's for implementing the PSiP's sets of operations,the method determines whether the cost of the identified set of IC's isless than the budget. If so, the method selects the identified set ofIC's. Otherwise, the method searches for another set of IC's toimplement the PSiP's operations. In the set of IC's that the methodeventually selects, there is at least one IC that is a configurable IC.In some embodiments, the configurable IC is a reconfigurable IC that canreconfigure more than once during run time.

In some of the embodiments described above, the set of IC's may includedigital and analog IC's. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the set ofIC's may include IC's that are manufactured with different fabricationtechnologies. Moreover, different embodiments might package the set ofIC's differently in a single package. Some embodiments might stack theset of IC's on top of each other into a single package. Some embodimentsmight place the set of IC's side by side into a single package. Someembodiments might stack some IC's while placing other IC's side by sidein a single package.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features of the invention are set forth in the appendedclaims. However, for purpose of explanation, several embodiments of theinvention are set forth in the following figures.

FIG. 1 illustrates a PSiP with IC's that are stacked in a pyramidstructure and includes a ball grid array.

FIG. 2 illustrates a PSiP with IC's that are stacked in a non-pyramidstructure and includes a pin grid array.

FIG. 3 illustrates a PSiP with IC's that are placed side by side.

FIG. 4 illustrates a PSiP with IC's that are stacked and placed side byside.

FIG. 5 illustrates a reconfigurable IC that can perform the operationsof a non configurable IC.

FIG. 6 illustrates a PSiP with a reconfigurable IC stacked on top of nonconfigurable IC's.

FIG. 7 illustrates a PSiP with IC's that have different manufacturingprocesses.

FIG. 8 illustrates a PSiP with a heat sink in the PSiP.

FIG. 9 illustrates a PSiP with a heat sink embedded in the first IC ofthe PSiP.

FIG. 10 illustrates a process of manufacturing a PSiP.

FIG. 11 illustrates a method of identifying IC's for a PSiP.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a system for a PSiP divided into a setof operations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, numerous details are set forth for purposeof explanation. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will realizethat the invention may be practiced without the use of these specificdetails. In other instances well-known structures and devices are shownin block diagram form in order not to obscure the description of theinvention with unnecessary detail.

Some embodiments of the invention provide a programmable system inpackage (“PSiP”). The PSiP includes a single IC housing, a substrate andseveral IC's that are arranged within the single IC housing. At leastone of the IC's is a configurable IC. In some embodiments, theconfigurable IC is a reconfigurable IC that can reconfigure more thanonce during “run time”.

As used in this document, run time means a period during which the PSiPcontinuously receives power (i.e., after the PSiP starts receiving powerand before the PSiP stops receiving power). Also, in this document, theterm “IC” refers to a semiconductor wafer on which a number of circuitelements (e.g., transistors, resistors, etc.) have been defined.

In some of these embodiments, the reconfigurable IC can be reconfiguredat a first clock rate that is faster (i.e., larger) than the clock ratesof one or more of the other IC's in the PSiP. The first clock rate isfaster than the clock rate of all of the other IC's in the PSiP in someembodiments.

In some of the embodiments, the set of IC's may include digital andanalog IC's. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the set of IC's mayinclude IC's that are manufactured with different fabricationtechnologies. Moreover, different embodiments might package the set ofIC's differently in a single package. Some embodiments might stack theset of IC's on top of each other into a single package. Some embodimentsmight place the set of IC's side by side into a single package. Someembodiments might stack some IC's while placing other IC's side by sidein a single package.

I. Structure of PSiP with Configurable IC

A. Stacked IC's

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a PSiP that includes several IC's thatare stacked. As shown in this figure, the PSiP 100 includes a substrate105, a ball grid array (“BGA”) 110, a set of vias 115, a first IC 120, asecond IC 125, a third IC 130, a fourth IC 135, a first adhesive 140, asecond adhesive 145, a third adhesive 150, a fourth adhesive 155, afirst set of wire-bonding 160, a second set of wire-bonding 165, a thirdset of wire-bonding 170, a fourth set of wire-bonding 175, and a housing180. In some embodiments, at least one of the IC's 120-135 is aconfigurable IC, or a reconfigurable IC, as further described below.

As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate 105 serves as a base for creating thePSiP. In some embodiments, the substrate 105 is a non-conducting orinsulating material that prevents outside electrical phenomena (e.g.,current, voltage) from interfering with the internal IC's (e.g., first,second, third, fourth IC's) of the PSiP 100.

As further shown in FIG. 1, the first IC 120 is located on top of thesubstrate 105. A first adhesive 140 bonds the first IC 120 to thesubstrate 105. The second IC 130 is located on top of the first IC 120.The second adhesive 145 bonds the second IC 125 to the first IC 120. Thethird IC 130 is located on top of the second IC 125. The third adhesive150 bonds the second IC 125 to the third IC 130. The fourth IC 135 islocated on top of the third IC 130. The fourth adhesive 155 bonds thethird IC 130 to the fourth IC 135. As shown in this figure, the IC's120-135 are stacked in a pyramid structure. That is, the IC's 120-135are stacked bottom to top, from the largest IC to the smallest IC.However, other embodiments might stack the IC's 120-135 differently,such as shown in FIG. 2.

As further shown in FIG. 1, the first IC 120 is communicatively attachedto the substrate 105 through the first set of wire-bonding 160.Similarly, each of the IC's 125-135 is communicatively attached to thesubstrate 105 through a respective set of wire-bonding 165, 170, or 175.These sets of wire-bonding 160-175 allow the first, second, third andfourth IC's 120-135 to communicate with each other without having to gooutside of the PSiP 100. In some embodiments, the IC's 120-135 might bedirectly wire-bonded to each other in order to facilitate communicationbetween these IC's. Instead of, or in conjunction with the sets ofwire-bonding 160-175, some embodiments might use other mechanisms tocommunicatively couple the IC's 120-135 to each other. Furthermore, FIG.1 illustrates the sets of wire-bonding 160-175 attached to the topsurface of the IC's 120-135. However, in other embodiments, the sets ofwire-bonding 160-175 may be attached to another surface area (e.g. sidesurface area) of the IC's 120-135 of the PSiP 100, such as shown in FIG.2.

As further shown in FIG. 1, the substrate 105 includes the BGA 110 andthe set of vias 115. The BGA 110 is a set of solder balls that allowsthe PSiP 100 to be attached to a printed circuit board (“PCB”). Each viaconnects a solder ball in the BGA 110 on the bottom of the substrate105, to a conductor on the top of the substrate 105.

The conductors on the top of the substrate 105 are electrically coupledto the IC's 120-135 through the sets of wire bonding 160-175.Accordingly, the IC's 120-135 can send and receive signals to and fromcircuits outside of the PSiP 100 through the sets of wire bonding160-175, the conductors on the top of the substrate 105, the set of vias115, and the BGA 110.

Some embodiments place the BGA 110 in a concentric two-dimensional arrayat the bottom of the substrate. Other embodiments might place the BGA110 in other arrangements (e.g., in a peripheral arrangement around theperimeter of the PSiP 100). In other embodiments, a PSiP 200 includes apin grid array (“PGA”) 205, as shown in FIG. 2. The PGA 205 performs thesame function as the BGA 115 shown in FIG. 1. As such, in combinationwith the set of vias 115, the PGA 205 provides an intermediate thatallows the IC's 120-135 inside the PSiP 200 to communicate with otherIC's outside the PSiP 200.

As further shown in FIG. 1, the housing 180 encapsulates the substrate105, the BGA 110, the set of vias 115, the IC's 120-135, the adhesives140-155, the sets of wire-bonding 160-175 to form the PSiP 100.

In the figures mentioned above and below, the PSiPs are shown attachedto a PCB facing up. However, one of ordinary skill in the art willrealize that other PSiP structures can be used. For example, someembodiments might use a flip chip structure. In such instances, thePSiPs are flipped over and attached to the PCB facing down.

B. Side by Side IC's

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a PSiP 300 that includes several IC'sthat are placed side by side to each other. As shown in this figure, thefirst, second, third and fourth IC's 120-135 are located on top of thesubstrate 105. In some embodiments, at least one of the IC's 120-135 isa configurable IC or a reconfigurable IC, as further described below.

In the PSiP 300, each IC is placed side by side to each other. A firstadhesive 140 is placed between the first IC 120 and the substrate 105 tobond them together. Similarly, a second, third and fourth adhesive145-155 are respectively placed between the second, third and fourth IC125-135 and the substrate 105. A first, second, third and fourth set ofwire-bonding 160-175 are attached respectively to the first, second,third and fourth IC's 120-135. These sets of wire-bonding 160-175 allowthe IC's 120-135 (1) to communicate with each other without having to gooutside of the PSiP, and (2) to communicate with IC's that are locatedoutside of the PSiP 300.

The PSiP 300 includes a BGA 110 and a set of vias 115. As previouslymentioned, the BGA 110 and the set of vias 115 allow the IC's 120-135 tocommunicate with IC's outside of the PSiP 300. In contrast to the PSiP100 with stacked IC's, which provides a PSiP that is narrow, the PSiP300 that includes side by side IC's provides a PSiP that is thin.

iii. Combination of Stacked and Side by Side IC's

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a PSiP 400 that includes a combinationof stacked and side by side IC's. In such an embodiment, some IC's ofthe PSiP 400 are stacked on top of each other, while other IC's of thePSiP 400 are placed side by side to each other. As shown in this figure,a first, second and third IC 120-130 is placed on top of a substrate105. A first, second and third adhesive 140-150 respectively bond thefirst, second and third IC 120-130 to the substrate 105. A fourth IC 135is placed on top of the third IC 130. A fourth adhesive 155 bonds thefourth IC 135 to the third IC 130. In some embodiments, at least one ofthe IC's 120-135 is a configurable IC. Furthermore, the PSiP 400includes a first, second, third and fourth set of wire-bonding 160-175that are attached respectively to the first, second, third and fourthIC's 120-135. As previously described, these sets of wire-bonding160-175 allow the IC's 120-135 to communicate with each other. In otherembodiments, the PSiP 400 further includes a BGA 110 and a set of vias115 to allow the IC's 120-135 to communicate with IC's outside of thePSiP 400.

II. PSiP with Reconfigurable IC's

In some embodiments, the configurable IC of the PSiP's described aboveis a reconfigurable IC that reconfigures more than once during runtime.In some embodiments, this reconfigurable IC might be a sub-cyclereconfigurable IC. FIG. 5 conceptually illustrates an example of asub-cycle reconfigurable IC. Specifically, in its top left hand corner,this figure illustrates a non-configurable IC 505 that operates at aclock speed of X MHz. As further illustrated in this figure, theoperations performed by this non-configurable IC 505 can be partitionedinto four sets of operations that are each performed at a clock speed ofX MHz.

FIG. 5 then illustrates that these four sets of operations can beperformed by one sub-cycle reconfigurable IC 530 that operates at 4XMHz. In some embodiments, four cycles of the 4X MHz clock correspond tofour sub-cycles within a cycle of the X MHz clock. Accordingly, thisfigure illustrates the reconfigurable IC 530 reconfiguring four timesduring four cycles of the 4X MHz clock (i.e., during four sub-cycles ofthe X MHz clock). During each of these reconfigurations (i.e., duringeach sub-cycle), the reconfigurable IC 530 performs one of theidentified four sets of operations. In other words, the fasteroperational speed of the reconfigurable IC 530 allows this IC toreconfigure four times during each cycle of the X MHz clock, in order toperform the four sets of operations sequentially at a 4X MHz rateinstead of performing the four sets of operations in parallel at an XMHz rate.

In some embodiments, a reconfigurable IC 530 reconfigures at a clockspeed that is comparatively faster than the clock speed of some or allother IC's within a PSiP. FIG. 6 illustrates an example of such a PSiP.Specifically, this figure illustrates a PSiP 600 that includes a first,second, third and fourth IC 605-620. The first, second and third IC's605-615 are non configurable IC's. As shown in this figure, each of thefirst, second and third IC's 605-615 operates at a clock speed of Z MHzor less. The fourth IC 620 is a reconfigurable IC which operates at aclock speed of 4Z MHz.

As shown in FIG. 6, the clock speed of the reconfigurable IC 620 iscomparatively faster than the clock speed of the first, second and thirdIC's 605-615. In other embodiments, the clock speed of thereconfigurable IC 620 is comparatively faster than the clock speed ofeither the first, second or third IC 605-615.

III. Mixed Fabrication Technology

As mentioned above, the IC's within a PSiP can perform many operations.Examples of operations include a processor operation, an analogoperation, a memory operation, etc. In some embodiments, these IC's aremanufactured using different fabrication technologies. For instance, anIC that performs memory operations might be manufactured using 90 nmfabrication technology, while an IC that performs a processor operationmight be manufactured using 130 nm fabrication technology, and an ICthat performs analog operations might be manufactured using 180 nm.

FIG. 7 conceptually illustrates a PSiP 700 that includes IC's withdifferent fabrication technologies. The PSiP 700 includes a first,second, third and fourth IC 120-135 that are placed on top of thesubstrate 105. At least one of the IC's 120-135 is a configurable IC. Inthis figure, the IC's 120-135 have different dimensions (e.g., width,height) to illustrate pictorially and conceptually that some of the IC's120-135 are manufactured with different fabrication technologies.Irrespective of the conceptual illustration in FIG. 7, one of ordinaryskill will realize that using different manufacturing fabricationtechnologies might not result in IC's with different dimensions.

IV. PSiP with Heat Sink

In some embodiments, a PSiP includes a heat sink. FIG. 8 illustrates anexample of such a PSiP. As shown in this figure, the PSiP 800 includes afirst IC 805 and a configurable IC 810. The configurable IC 810 is areconfigurable IC in some embodiments. As shown in FIG. 8, the PSiP 800also includes a heat sink 815 between the first IC 805 and theconfigurable IC 810. The heat sink 815 helps dissipate heat from theconfigurable IC 810 in the PSiP 800.

FIG. 9 illustrates another embodiment of a PSiP that includes a heatsink. As shown in this figure, the PSiP 900 includes a first IC 905 anda configurable IC 910. The configurable IC 910 is a reconfigurable IC insome embodiments. As shown in FIG. 9, the first IC 905 includes (1) acenter area 915 on which no circuits are defined, and (2) a peripheryarea 920 on which circuit elements (e.g., transistors, resistors, wires,etc.) are defined. The center area 915 serves as a heat sink on whichconfigurable IC 910 is positioned. In other words, the center area 915helps dissipate heat from the configurable IC 910 in the PSiP 900.

Having described various PSiP that include a configurable orreconfigurable IC, a method of manufacturing a PSiP and selecting theIC's for the PSiP will now be described in detail.

V. Manufacturing PSiP

FIG. 10 conceptually illustrates a process 1000 for manufacturing aPSiP. As shown in this figure, the system requirements of the PSiP areinitially identified (at 1005). That is, this operation identifies whatperformance objectives the PSiP has to achieve. After identifying (at1005) the system requirements of the PSiP, sets of operations that arenecessary for achieving the identified system requirements areidentified at 1010. For each set of operation identified at 1010, adetermination is made (at 1010) whether to implement the set ofoperations by using an existing IC or a new IC that will be specificallydesigned or configured to implement the set of operations. In someembodiments, at least one of the IC's identified at 1010 is aconfigurable IC. In some of these embodiments, this configurable IC is areconfigurable IC that reconfigures more than once during run time. Theoperation at 1010 will be further described below by reference to FIG.11.

After identifying new or existing IC's, a PSiP structure is identified(at 1015) for housing all the identified IC's. As described above, aPSiP can be structured in numerous ways. In some embodiments, a PSiP caninclude IC's that are stacked. In other embodiments, a PSiP can includeIC's that are placed side by side. In yet other embodiments, a PSiP caninclude IC's that are placed side by side and stacked.

After defining (at 1015) the structure of the PSiP, a pre-fabricationanalysis is performed (at 1020) to determine whether the designed PSiPis likely to satisfy the system requirements. If the designed PSiP failsthis analysis, the process (1) returns back to 1010 to redefine the setsof operations and/or to modify the IC selection/design choices, and then(2) transitions to 1015 to define a PSiP structure for housing the IC'sidentified at 1010.

When the PSiP design passes the pre-fabrication analysis at 1020, thePSiP is manufactured (at 1025) based on the IC's identified in the lastiteration of 1010 and the PSiP structure identified in the lastiteration of 1015. In some embodiments, the manufacturing processentails purchasing and/or configuring only existing IC's to produce thedesired PSiP. In other embodiments, the manufacturing process entailsmanufacturing at least one new IC to produce the PSiP.

After manufacturing the PSiP, the manufactured PSiP is tested (at 1030)to determine whether the manufactured PSiP meets the system requirementsthat were identified (at 1005). If not, the process returns to 1010,which was described above. When the manufactured PSiP passes thepost-fabrication analysis at 1030, then the process 1000 ends.

VI. Identifying Reconfigurable IC's for PSiP

FIG. 11 conceptually illustrates a process 1100 for selecting andidentifying IC's to be used in a PSiP. Some embodiments perform theprocess 1100 to implement the design operation 1010 in FIG. 10. As shownFIG. 11, an available budget for producing the PSiP is initiallyidentified at 1105. In some embodiments, this budget is predicted onproducing a certain number of PSiP's. Also, in some embodiments, theidentified budget accounts for all funds necessary (1) for designing,configuring and manufacturing new IC or IC's if such IC's are requiredby the PSiP, and (2) for acquiring and/or configuring an existing IC. Inother embodiments, this amount also includes the cost of the PSiPpackaging, assembling, and/or testing.

Once the available budget has been defined (at 1105), sets of operationsare identified (at 1110) by dividing the system requirements of the PSiPinto several operational blocks, where each operational block representsa set of operations that the PSiP has to perform. FIG. 12 conceptuallyillustrates an example of dividing the system requirements for a PSiPinto several operational blocks. In this example, the operational blocksinclude a processor operation block 1205, a memory operation block 1210,a digital signal processor operation block 1220, an analog operationblock 1225, an analog/digital converter operation block 1230, adigital/analog converter operation block 1235, and a reconfigurable ICoperation block 1240. As mentioned above, each operational blockincludes a set of operations that the PSiP has to perform. For instance,the processor operation block 1205 may include a set of processingoperations that the PSiP has to perform.

Once the sets of operations have been identified (at 1110) by dividingthe system requirement of the PSiP into several operational blocks, oneor more sets of operations (i.e., selects at least one or moreoperational blocks) are selected at 1115. After selecting one or moresets of operations at 1115, an IC that can perform the selected set orsets of operations is identified at 1120. The identified IC might be anexisting IC that can perform or can be configured to perform the set orsets of operations selected at 1115. Alternatively, the identified ICmight be an IC that has to be designed to perform, or has to be designedto be configured to perform, the selected set of operations. In at leastone iteration through 1120, the selected IC is a configurable IC. Insome cases, the configurable IC is a reconfigurable IC that canreconfigured more than once at run time.

Different identified IC's perform the selected set or sets of operationsdifferently. For instance, a non-configurable IC that is identified at1120 might perform in parallel the operations in the set or sets ofoperations selected at 1115. Alternatively, the IC identified at 1120might be a configurable IC that can be configured to perform in parallelthe operations in the set or sets of operations selected at 1115. On theother hand, the IC identified at 1120 might be a reconfigurable IC thatsequentially performs one or more sub-sets of the operations in theset(s) of operations selected at 1115 during different reconfigurationsub-cycles.

Once the IC is identified at 1120, a determination is made (at 1125) asto whether the actual or estimated cost of the identified IC is lessthan the available budget. When the selected IC is a previously designedIC, the cost of the IC is the cost associated with purchasing,manufacturing, and/or configuring the previously designed IC. When theselected IC is an IC that has yet to be designed, the cost of the IC isthe cost associated with designing, testing, manufacturing, and/orconfiguring the IC. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the cost of the ICaccounts for costs associated with packaging and assembling the ICwithin the PSiP. In such embodiments, the process 1100 might perform thepackage-defining operation 1015 of the process 1000 of FIG. 10, or mightsimply account for the probable cost of such a packaging.

If the cost of the identified IC is not less than the available budget,the process 1100 proceeds back to 1120 to identify another IC for theselected set of operations. However, if the cost of the identified IC isless than the available budget, the process 1100 subtracts (at 1130) thecost of the identified IC from the available budget.

Once the cost of the identified IC has been subtracted from theavailable budget, a determination is made (at 1135) whether there is anadditional set of operations that has not yet been associated with anIC. If so, the process 1100 (1) returns back to 1115 to select other setor sets of operations that have not yet been selected, and then (2)proceeds to 1120 to identify another IC for the newly selected set orsets of operations.

When it is determined (at 1135) that there is no additional set ofoperations, a determination is made (at 1140) whether the identified setof IC's is a good enough set of IC's for implementing the PSiP. Forinstance, when the identified set of IC's includes a reconfigurable IC,a determination might be made (at 1140) that the reconfigurable IC canperform additional operations in order to reduce the overall cost of thePSiP. Such additional operations would be operations that werepreviously identified for another IC. When a determination is made (at1140) that the set of IC's is a good enough set, the process 1100 ends.

A PSiP, i.e., a SiP with a configurable or reconfigurable IC, has manyadvantages. A PSiP provides a simple solution for combining the oftendesirable configurable functionality of a configurable or reconfigurableIC with the functionalities commonly provided by other IC's. PSiP's areeasier to design than the currently proposed SoC solutions that combineconfigurable functionality of configurable IC's with other ICfunctionalities.

Also, the IC's of a PSiP can be manufactured by different fabricationtechnologies. Hence, optimal fabrication processes can be used tomanufacture the IC's of the PSiP. This is to be contrasted with theprior SoC solutions that require the use of one fabrication process forall the operational blocks on the SoC, which results in some of theoperational blocks being manufactured by fabrication processes that arefar from their optimal fabrication technology.

While the invention has been described with reference to numerousspecific details, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatthe invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit of the invention. For instance, some embodiments mightfirst identify all the IC's for the PSiP and then determine whether thecost of all the IC's is less than the available budget. Furthermore, insome instances, some embodiments might identify an IC based on IC's thatwere previously identified. Additionally, some embodiments determinewhether a set of IC's is optimized based on cost. As such, in someinstances, a set of IC's is not optimized if the cost of the set of IC'scan be further minimized. Thus, one of ordinary skill in the art wouldunderstand that the invention is not to be limited by the foregoingillustrative details, but rather is to be defined by the appendedclaims.

1. A method for manufacturing a system in a package (“SiP”), the methodcomprising: dividing operational requirements for the system into setsof operations; assigning different sets of operations to different setsof integrated circuits (“ICs”), wherein the sets of ICs comprise a firstconfigurable IC comprising a plurality of reconfigurable circuits,wherein at least one of said reconfigurable circuit is for beingreconfigured more than once during a runtime of the configurable IC toperform at least two different operations during two differentconfigurations of the reconfigurable circuit; and packaging the sets ofICs into one encapsulated IC package, wherein each IC is a separatewafer that comprises at least one circuit element.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the configurable IC is a reconfigurable IC.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the reconfigurable IC operates at a firstclock rate that is faster than a second clock rate of another one of theICs.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the reconfigurable IC implementsan IC that is designed for a first clock rate, wherein thereconfigurable IC operates at a second clock rate that is faster thanthe first clock rate.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the first clockrate is the rate of a first clock, wherein the reconfigurable ICreconfigures multiple times within a clock cycle of the first clock. 6.The method of claim 1, wherein one of the ICs is a digital IC whileanother of the ICs is an analog IC.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinthe first IC is manufactured with a first fabrication process, whereinthe sets of ICs comprises a second IC that is manufactured with a secondfabrication process.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning thesets of operations is based on a defined budget.
 9. The method of claim8, wherein a first set of operations is assigned to a particular set ofICs when a cost associated with the set of ICs is less than the definedbudget.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the cost comprises a cost fordesigning and manufacturing at least one IC in the sets of ICs.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the cost comprises a cost for configuring atleast one acquired IC in the sets of ICs.
 12. The method of claim 9,wherein the cost comprises a cost for acquiring at least one IC in thesets of ICs.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein the cost comprises acost for packaging at least one IC in the sets of ICs.
 14. The method ofclaim 9, wherein the cost is an actual cost.
 15. The method of claim 9,wherein the cost is an estimated cost.
 16. The method of claim 1,wherein the operational requirements for the system comprises aperformance objective for the SiP.
 17. The method of claim 1, whereinthe encapsulated IC package is a particular SiP.
 18. The method of claim1, wherein the encapsulated IC package comprises a substrate and ahousing that encloses the sets of ICs in the IC package.
 19. The methodof claim 1, wherein a particular reconfigurable circuit is forperforming first and second operations, wherein the first operation isbased on a first set of configuration data, wherein the second operationis based on a second set of configuration data that is provided to theparticular reconfigurable circuit during the runtime of the configurableIC.
 20. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning different sets ofoperations to different sets of ICs comprises assigning a first set ofoperations to a particular existing IC.
 21. The method of claim 20,wherein the particular existing IC is an IC that has already beendesigned for manufacturing.
 22. The method of claim 1, wherein assigningdifferent sets of operations to different sets of ICs comprisesassigning a first set of operations to a particular IC to be designedfor performing the first set of operations.
 23. A method formanufacturing a system in a package (“SiP”), the method comprising:identifying sets of operations for the system; specifying different setsof integrated circuit wafers for performing different sets ofoperations, wherein at least one of the integrated circuit wafercomprises a plurality of reconfigurable circuits, wherein at least oneof said reconfigurable circuit is for being reconfigured more than onceduring a runtime of the integrated circuit wafer to perform at least twodifferent operations during two different configurations of thereconfigurable circuit; positioning the integrated circuit wafers on asubstrate; and encapsulating the integrated circuit wafers within ahousing.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the reconfigurable circuitoperates at a first clock rate that is faster than a second clock rateof another integrated circuit wafer of the SiP.
 25. The method of claim23, wherein specifying the sets of integrated circuit wafers comprisesselecting a particular existing integrated circuit wafer for performinga particular set of operations.
 26. The method of claim 23, whereinspecifying the sets of integrated circuit wafers comprises designing aparticular integrated circuit wafer for performing a particular set ofoperations.
 27. The method of claim 23, wherein specifying the sets ofintegrated circuit wafers comprises configuring a particular existingintegrated circuit wafer for performing a particular set of operations.